Jason Katims

"Watching Rise feels like watching its promising high school characters take to the stage and try with all their might to bare their souls and inspire the masses," says Caroline Framke. "It’s unabashedly earnest, sporadically moving, and, when it falters, incredibly frustrating." The biggest problem, she says is that Josh Radnor's "supposedly inspiration teacher" character is a "patronizing nightmare." She adds that he "is a one-stop shop of condescension and petulance, and the show doesn’t realize it until way too late in the season."

Josh Radnor plays a straight drama teacher named Lou Mazzuchelli on the NBC drama series that is inspired by real-life gay drama teacher Lou Volpe. But Volpe, the producers and NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt — who is gay — want to make it clear that although Volpe’s memoir inspired the series, Rise is not a direct adaptation of his book. Thus the “Lou” character that Radnor is playing is a completely original character, even though he shares the same name as Volpe. “As an artist, I respect their vision for the show," says Volpe. That’s why executive producer Jason Katims received a “Created by” credit on the series, instead of a “Developed by” credit.

There was controversy over showrunner Jason Katims’ recent comments explaining why Josh Radnor’s character is straight, when the real-life teacher who inspired the show is gay. Katims said at the TV press tour that he wanted to make the show “his story,” which prompted the “straight-washing” outrage. Katims said what he actually said was that he wanted Rise to be wholly original. The producers also released the following statement: “The misinterpretation by some of what we’ve done with this show goes against what we fundamentally believe and who we are as individuals. We are firmly committed to LGBTQ inclusion, and most of all, are excited for the community to see Rise, which we believe portrays positive depictions of LGBTQ characters and stories on broadcast television with honesty and sensitivity. To that end, we worked with GLAAD on the show’s LGBTQ storylines to ensure they are told with respect and authenticity.”

Josh Radnor plays a straight male teacher, even though his NBC series is based on Michael Sokolove’s book Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater, about a closeted gay teacher. As Hanh Nguyen reports, Rise showrunner Jason Katims “explained he changed this aspect of his main character to be able to connect with the story, but that he didn’t want to ‘shy away from issues of sexuality.’ He pointed out that Rise will still have LGBT elements, particularly focusing on its young characters — including a trans character and another character who is grappling with his sexuality.” ALSO: How Katims' Friday Night Lights influenced Rise.